Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay and
NY/NJ Harbor:
Dredged Material Management
Anne L. Kruger, Ph.D., Technical Advisor,
Diamond Alkali Superfund Site
(Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay) &
Ella F. Filippone, Executive Administrator,
Passaic River Coalition
December 2011
Passaic River Coalition
Improving water quality isn’t just our goal,
it’s your future.
Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay,
the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site
The Diamond Alkali Superfund Site has been on the
Superfund National Priorities List since 1984.
Ella Filippone, Executive Administrator of the
Passaic River Coalition (PRC), and Anne Kruger,
Ph.D., Senior Scientist for the PRC since 1992, have
been actively monitoring the technical aspects of
this case since its inception, and have been involved
in public participation through community
involvement groups, such as the CAG.
We hope that by working together actions will
finally be taken to really start cleaning up this
Superfund Site.
Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay
and NY/NJ Harbor
The Lower Passaic River
and Newark Bay are
critical parts of the NY/NJ
Harbor Estuary, a hub of
economic activity in
America, because these
waters provide so many
ecological benefits,
including shipping access
to the world.
Harbor Benefits
Early on European Settlers
realized the importance of the
Passaic River. The location of
Newark made it ideal as a
center of trade and commerce
because of its easy access to
the Harbor.
Sketch of the waterfront circa 1920
Engraving of Newark 1844
Passaic River and Newark Bay Benefits
Industry at the Great Falls mid 19th Century
In 1791 Alexander Hamilton realized the power
of the waters of the Passaic River going over the
Great Falls and founded the Society for
Establishing Useful Manufactures at the start of
the Industrial Revolution.
Many industries and
businesses were
developed along the
Passaic River and
Newark Bay because
these waters provide
access to shipping
and many other
benefits.
Dredging Problems in Lower Passaic River
But shipping needs
the navigation
channels to be
dredged. The river
was also a place to
dump stuff, including
PCBs and dioxin.
Because there’s been
no place to dispose of
the dredged material,
most of the Lower
Passaic River has not
been dredged since
the 1940s.
Dredging Problems in Newark Bay
Economy threatened because of difficulties in
dredging contaminated sediments in Newark Bay!
Dredging Problems in Harbor
NY/NJ Harbor Deepening Navigation Projects
Dredged Material Management (DMM)
Problems in Harbor
Until 1997:
All Harbor DMM at “Mud
Dump Site” in ocean
1997 to 2012:
Only clean DMM at
Historic Area
Remediation Site (HARS)
in ocean
Contaminated DMM in
CDFs in Newark Bay
After 2012:
Contaminated DMM ???
Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS) in Ocean
Fish Problems in the Newark Bay Complex
Dead crabs lie atop contaminated sediments.
Health Problems from Fishing
in Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay Complex
People are eating crabs
and other fish
containing toxic levels
of dioxin!
Although fishing for crabs
and other fish has been
prohibited since 1984,
almost half of the anglers
interviewed by NJDEP staff
in 2002 reported eating
blue claw crabs from the
Newark Bay Complex.
Legacy Pollutants (PCBs and Dioxin) in Lower
Passaic River, Newark Bay and NY/NJ Harbor
History of Legacy Pollutants --
All these problems are caused primarily by the contamination of sediments with persistent
toxic compounds, PCBs and dioxin (polychlorinated hydrocarbons).
1929 to 1979: PCBs were designed to be non-flammable and chemically stable up to
~2,000oF. PCBs were manufactured for many uses from 1929 until they were banned in
1979 because of their toxicity, but they continue to persist today, adhering to sediment
particles in the water, because microbes and other biota can’t change them chemically.
They are taken up by plants and eaten by animals on which they have harmful effects.
1960s: The dioxin, 2,3,7,8-TCDD (a polychlorinated hydrocarbon), was a contaminant in
Agent Orange, which was manufactured at the Diamond Alkali plant at 80 Lister Avenue in
Newark in the 1960s and used in VietNam to defoliate plants. Dioxin is about the most
toxic substance known to man.
1984 to 20??: Ban on eating shellfish and fish from Lower Passaic River.
1984 to 20??: DO NOT CATCH! DO NOT EAT! “Blue Claw Crab Alert” in the Newark Bay
Region.
2011 to 20??: Today, more than a third of a century after they were last manufactured,
these legacy pollutants persist in sediments in the Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay Region,
and NY/NJ Harbor.
Sediment Contamination: PCBs
PCBs (polychlorinated
biphenyls) are persistent
organic compounds that are
toxic to benthic organisms
and fish as well as people.
The maximum level of total
PCBs that would be
considered acceptable in nonresidential soils and river
sediments is 14 parts per
billion of soil (ng/g). In the
Lower Passaic River
sediments, PCB levels were
over 12,000 ng/g in the 1960s
and as high as 2,800 ng/g in
the 1990s.
Sediment
Contamination:
PCBs in Newark Bay
Even though the
manufacture of PCBs
was banned in 1979,
their presence in
Newark Bay continues to
grow. In some sediment
samples taken from
Newark Bay in 2005 and
2007 levels of PCBs
exceeded 4,800 ng/g
(red).
Sediment
Contamination:
PCBs in NY/NJ Harbor
Sediment Contamination: Dioxin (2,3,7,8-TCDD)
Dioxin is about the most toxic
substance known to man. The
maximum level of this dioxin
(2,3,7,8-TCDD) that is considered
acceptable in river sediments is
~1 pg/g (parts per trillion). The
highest concentration shown here
is >600 pg/g at river mile 3, near
the Diamond Alkali site. Very high
levels, ~800,000 pg/g, were found
in sediments deposited in the
sixties when Agent Orange was
manufactured and dioxin was
washed into the Passaic River.
Sediment
Contamination:
Dioxin in Newark Bay
In 2005 and 2007
sediments that
became contaminated
with dioxin in the
1960s at the Diamond
Alkali site and were
washed into Newark
Bay still had levels
over 666 pg/g (red).
Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay and NY/NJ Harbor
The Challenge
Are we willing to move these
pollutants, PCBs and dioxin, from
one place to another within the
NY/NJ Harbor area?
Within the USA?
Can the CAG envision a process
that will permanently remove
most of the harmful impacts of
PCBs and dioxin from the NY/NJ
Harbor area?
Can we as a society destroy
pollutants that are considered
indestructible?
What kind of legacy do we want
to leave for future generations?
Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay and NY/NJ Harbor
Actions for Dredging and DMM
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: We propose these actions:
“The Port of New York and
New Jersey must be dredged Action 1, Dredge Legacy
Pollutants (PCBs and
to maintain navigation and
commerce estimated to
Dioxin) from Lower Passaic
generate about $20 billion
River
annually in direct and
indirect benefits.”
Action 2, Move Dredged
Need a Dredged Material
Management (DMM) Plan
Sediments
from
Water
to
that gives “special emphasis
Land
to beneficial uses of the
material needing to be
Action 3, Decontaminate
dredged to maintain
efficient waterborne
Dredged
Sediments
for
transportation into and out
Beneficial Uses
of the Port.”
Action 1, Dredge Legacy Pollutants
(PCBs and Dioxin) from Lower Passaic River!
Help to Restore Fishable Waters!
Benefits
☻Reduce illness and medical costs for
people eating sea food.
☻Improve health and diversity of the
biota in the waters and sediments of
the Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay
and all of the NY/NJ Harbor reducing
future clean-up costs.
☻Help to restore healthy habitats for
fish improving “opportunities for
recreation, tourism, and fisheries –
industries valued at over $20 billion
per year that depend on a clean
Harbor Estuary.”
Action 1, Dredge Legacy
Pollutants
(PCBs and Dioxin)
from Lower Passaic River
Benefits
☻Restoration of navigation
channels in the Lower Passaic
River. “The Federal interest in navigation
derives from the Commerce Clause of the
Constitution.” Since the 1940s the Federal
Government has neglected its duty to
keep the authorized navigation channels
in the Lower Passaic River clear of
contaminated sediments.
☻Reduction in migration of legacy
pollutants into Newark Bay and
NY/NJ Harbor.
Action 2, Move Dredged Sediments from
Water to Land! Do not use CADs or CDFs!
Benefits
☻Reduction in
flooding.
☻No maintenance
costs.
Action 3, Decontaminate Dredged Sediments
with Legacy Pollutants for Beneficial Uses
Do not use Non-Decontaminating Treatment
for Dredged Material Management (DMM)
Wetlands Restoration: PCBs and dioxin will persist and cause harm
because they were chemically created to resist the chemical changing
forces of nature.
Landfill: Legacy pollutants can migrate into environments surrounding a
landfill and cause harm.
Biological Treatment (STPs): Dioxin and PCBs are indigestible and may be
toxic to the microorganisms used to treat sewage, and they will persist in
sediments treated by biological methods.
Sediment Washing: The chemicals used to clean some sediments will not
wash off or change these legacy pollutants.
Incineration: Incinerator temperatures of 1,400oF to 1,800oF are not hot
enough to destroy PCBs and dioxin by oxidation.
Action 3, Decontaminate Dredged Sediments
with Legacy Pollutants for Beneficial Uses!
Do not use “Off-site” Disposal!
Costs of “Off-site” Disposal
The few facilities (7) that have
permits to provide thermal treatment
for wastes with PCBs are located in
western states (TX, LA, OK, UT).
Shipping costs to western facilities
are high.
High costs for greenhouse gas
emissions during shipping.
None of the PCB waste facilities will
immobilize heavy metals.
Dumping anywhere in the U.S. or
Canada will lead to high
ecologic/economic costs.
Benefits of “Local Decon”
☻Development of a “Local Decon”
facility will provide DMM for future
dredging projects.
☻“The Port of New York and New
Jersey is the largest port on the East
Coast, providing more than 230,000
direct and indirect jobs in port
related activities.”
☻Clean sediments throughout the
harbor can save at least $25,000,000
per year in costs of maintaining the
harbor’s water transportation
infrastructure.
Action 3, Decontaminate Dredged Sediments
with Legacy Pollutants for Beneficial Uses
by Thermal-Chemical Treatment!
Benefits
☻ Permanent destruction of
Legacy Sediment Contaminants,
PCBs and Dioxin , at
temperatures of ~2,500oF.
☻ Immobilization of heavy metals .
☻ Beneficial use of contaminated
sediments dredged from the
Lower Passaic River, Newark
Bay, NY/NJ Harbor, and eastern
USA.
Thermal-Chemical Treatment:
The thermal-chemical technology
uses a rotary kiln that is fueled by
natural gas to melt multicontaminated sediments. The
process is similar to what happens
in an active volcano. In a rotary
kiln operating at ~2,500oF the
organic contaminants are
disassociated or destroyed, and
the non-volatile heavy metals are
encapsulated into the siliceous
matrix that forms from the
sediments to produce a product
which can be used as a 30-40%
replacement for Portland cement
in concrete, a beneficial use.
Action 3, Decontaminate Dredged Sediments
with Legacy Pollutants for Beneficial Uses
by Thermal-Chemical Treatment!
Evaluation of Thermo-Chemical Treatment for DMM
This technology for remediating contaminated sediments was conceived at
the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) in 1994, and developed from bench-scale
to pilot-scale in 1994 to 2005. EPA and the Brookhaven National Laboratory
have worked with GTI on this project since 1995. In 2000 the NJ Department
of Transportation, Office of Maritime Resources, selected this technology “to
be evaluated for its applicability to the treatment of sediment dredged from
navigational channels.”
As in the development of most new technologies, problems were
encountered in the demonstration-scale testing of the Cement-Lock®
technology in Bayonne in 2006 and 2007. In our judgment these problems are
being well addressed in the current phase of planning for a treatment facility.
After considering the options available for the management of materials that
should be dredged from the Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay, NY/NJ Harbor
and elsewhere we find that the thermo-chemical treatment option being
proposed by the Volcano Partners is both ecologically and economically
sensible and sustainable.
Thermal-Chemical (Cement-Lock®) Treatment
Air Pollution Control
☻Heat recovery for steam generation and electric
power production
☻NOx control by selective non-catalytic reduction
☻Acid gas (SOx and HCl) capture by lime injection
☻Spent lime and particulate capture in bag house
fabric filters
☻Mercury control by powdered activated carbon
injection
☻Spent activated carbon capture in bag house fabric
filters
Benefits of Thermal-Chemical Treatment
for Dredged Material Management (DMM)
☻Elimination of reliance on CADs or CDFs
☻Reduction in reliance on landfills
☻Beneficial uses (cement, energy)
☻No long-term liability
☻Minimal waste
☻Permanent removal of some of the legacy
pollutants, PCBs and dioxin, and other
contaminants from the environment of the
Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay and NY/NJ
Harbor
Lower Passaic River, Newark Bay and NY/NJ Harbor
Working towards making these Waters
Navigable and Fishable !!!
Questions or comments?
We hope that the actions we’re
recommending will stimulate discussion
among involved parties so that mutually
acceptable ways will be found to fund
these actions as soon as possible. We
hope that you and your community will
work with us to encourage the
implementation of the Superfund
projects so that in the future the millions
of people living and working in the area,
as well as visitors from around the world,
can enjoy the ecologic and economic
benefits of a healthy river and harbor.
This effort is critical for restoring
economic prosperity to this region!
Working for a Better Future
for the Lower Passaic River and Newark Bay
Passaic RiverCoalition
330 Speedwell Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960
(973)532-9830
www.passaicriver.org
Ella Filippone
Executive Administrator
Richard Plambeck
Chairman